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Is Overfeeding Possible?

I've been feeding my 3 week old on demand, and he is growing like a weed. He weighed 8 pounds at birth, and once he started gaining weight, he started to gain almost a pound a week! This seems like alot to me. He weighs 9 1/2 pounds now. Could I be overfeeding him?

Re: Is Overfeeding Possible?

As long as you are just breastfeeding, I wouldn't worry about overfeeding him! He's a growing boy! How often does he nurse? The beautiful thing about nursing is that your baby will control your supply, so maybe he's just boosting your milk, or he's just a big eater! If you are really worried ask your pediatrician. I will say that when my daughter was "underweight" a pound a week was what the doc wanted her to be gaining!

Re: Is Overfeeding Possible?

I don't think you are over feeding. . . unless the baby seems uncomfortable and vomits after eating. . .not spit-up so much, but vomiting is less digetsted in my experience. When I thought that my supply was too low we started supplementing with EBM and then our baby seemed to just throw it right up. . .I think he was overfed.

Don't worry about that kind of weight gain, it's normal. A friend of mine said her BF baby gained over a pound a week for the first month and he was a chubby boy, but he turned out to be tall lanky teen.

Re: Is Overfeeding Possible?

It sounds like he's thriving on your milk! Fast weight gain at this age isn't a concern at all! Breastmilk is the perfect food for him and has no "empty calories". Many breastfed babies will gain a lot of weight for the first several months and then it will level off as they become more active and mobile.
Keep up the good work, Mommy!
Jen

"Mothers are designed to be available to their babies--to help them make the transition into this big, wide world. To teach them to trust, and love, and feel good about being alive."

Re: Is Overfeeding Possible?

You should be happy!! Breastfed babies can not become "overweight". My 7 wk old is just the same.....she was 7'11'' and now almost 12lbs. When people see her they say "oh she is so fat!" she's not fat...she is healthy and beautiful......be proud of all her weight gain, I am sure your baby is healthy and beautiful too!!

Re: Is Overfeeding Possible?

My first daughter has always been huge in comparison to her peers and grew at an amazing rate when she was a baby. It's your fabulous milk that's making your baby so big, strong, and healthy! My GP used to tell me every time he saw Sarah that it's always better to be big when you're a baby because you'll be less likely to have serious trouble w/ respiratory infections. Be proud that you're growing such a fine young person!